I'm Not Dying...

A lot of people are texting and calling to ask if everything is okay - so I figured the best way to handle all these calls and texts is to just post it here.

On occasion, I get dizzy - most of the time it's when my blood sugar is low...eat a candy bar, and I'm good. I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia back in high school, and have learned to keep my blood sugar where it needs to be.  Sometimes I fail at remembering to eat if I'm busy, or if I just don't get a chance to eat when I normally do.  But, Friday night was a totally different story.  

I had been eating all day and had just finished a venti iced coffee around 6:00.  So, when I had the dizziness I got a little concerned.  It was a spell of dizziness that I had never felt.  The room was spinning around whatever I was focusing on, and standing up made it worse.  I layed down in bed around 9:30 and called Chelcie to basically figure out what the hell was going on and see if I needed to go to the ER.  We decided that I should try and close my eyes and sleep for a little bit to see if it went away.  Chelcie called me back an hour later and in my sleepiness I'm guessing I mumbled that I was fine and sleeping.  

The rest of the night I was completely restless.  I would sleep for an hour and wake up with the room spinning.  By the way, I had NOTHING to drink all day/night.  I tried everything to make it stop - nothing worked.  And now, it felt like someone was pulling my hair constantly - my scalp was tight feeling.  Not normal.  I watch WAY too many medical shows - and upon feeling this, I diagnosed myself with a brain aneurism...comforting, right?

I finally just got up at 7:30 the next morning with the same symptoms as the night before.  I texted Chelcie and asked if she thought I should go to the ER...she said "yes".  So, I called my mom - natural instinct when you're in pain - and told her what was going on.  She told me she was getting in the car and would be here as soon as she could and to get someone to take me to the ER - obviously I couldn't drive.  Thankfully, Brooke and Jamey responded super fast and the next thing I knew, Jamey was at my door ready to drive me to the ER.  I will never be able to thank them enough!  

So, I have been seeing the billboards all over town for Piedmont Medical Center that you can actually check ER wait times online and even check in online...so I did.  Once I got there, I sat for no more than 5 minutes before I was taken to triage and had my vitals checked.  Moved down to the next room where I probably signed my first born child away to PMC, and then I was taken back to my room.  This all happened within 30 minutes of arriving to the hospital...I was impressed.  I've sat in that same ER waiting room with a boyfriend 6 years ago with a dislocated shoulder for 3 hours with nothing offered to us other than "we can give him some asprin".  So, PMC has obviously stepped up their game.

Within 15 minutes, Dr. Rumsey came in to ask questions and let me know what they had planned on doing.  They were going to do an EKG, CT and blood work.  Ten minutes later, a nurse was drawing 8 vials of blood from my shaking arm (I REALLY hate needles) while another nurse was giving me Meclizine for the dizziness.  By the way, Meclizine is fan-freaking-tastic.

Next thing I know, a REALLY hot doctor was wheeling me back to the CT room - all I could think of was "dammit, I didn't even brush my hair this morning".  Anyway, after being scanned, I was wheeled back to my room where the EKG guy was waiting...seriously, I was never left alone for more than 10 minutes the entire time I was there.  

After the EKG, I called my mom and dad and let Jamey know that he could leave whenever he needed to since my mom was about an hour away.  Just knowing my mom was on her way was more comforting than anything...and the meds were kicking in full time now and I really didn't care much about anything.

Dr. Rumsey came in and let me know they were finishing up with my tests and that I could go sit in the observation room - which is basically a room full of really comfy chairs and a huge TV...oh, and a bunch of other sick people.

About 30 minutes later, Dr. Rumsey came in and told me that all my test came back negative and that everything on the CT looked fine.  He said that he thought I suffer from vertigo, and that some kind of virus (or the sinus infection I just "got over") may have triggered the big episode of dizziness.  He prescribed me the same meds he gave me while in the ER (Meclizine) and told me he wanted me to go see a neurologist as soon as possible.

I called my mom and dad to let them know I wasn't dying and then sat for the next hour with the crazies in the observation room while my mom hauled ass to Rock Hill.  Thankfully she got there before any more sick crazies filled up the room.

No matter how old you are, there's nothing like having your mother there with you to take care of you when you are sick, in pain, or scared...in which I was all of the above.

She took me home after getting my script filled and cooked me shrimp Alfredo and served me Powerade after Powerade.  After eating and drinking, I started feeling a little better - but still a little wobbly when I stood up.

Mom went to the grocery store and got us stuff for dinner and of course stocked up my pantry while she was at it.  After dinner, I fell asleep - given that I had not slept the night before, I was super tired.

When I woke up this morning and my mom was there, it was like walking in the living room on Christmas morning as a kid.  She may not have done anything but feed me and bring me drinks, but her presence alone made me feel so much better.

I'm going to try and get an appointment at the neurologist tomorrow, hoping they will take me in asap given my ER visit.  Hopefully I'll have answers soon as to why I have these bouts of dizziness and vertigo, and even more importantly, how to treat them.

My mom has left, and I only cried a little (lot) when she was driving away.  I'm ok and don't need anyone here with me, but that doesn't mean I don't want someone with me.

So that's my not so super Saturday.

The Real World - IOP

You want to know what you can learn from putting 6 best friends from high school in a beach house with a ridiculous amount of alcohol and no cable television for three days?  A lot.

Things I learned from "The Real World - Isle of Palms":

When there's no cable television, you're forced to spend an hour trying to watch the Heat game on the internet.  When you fail, you drink instead.

Large family style dinner tables make for a really fantastic beer pong table.

Din Din

If you ask your mother to make a lasagna for 7 people, she will make it for 70.  Thus, you will hate lasagna after day 2.

seriously?

Just because YOU cannot hear what someone is saying outside the door of the "totally friggin' soundproof" bathroom, does not mean that the people on the floor below the "totally friggin' soundproof" bathroom cannot hear either.

If I didn't know us, I'd hate us.

You cannot say "You guys know how to post videos to Facebook" enough to piss people off.

Halloween decorations that are "cute" at Halloween are just down right terrifying in February.

told you...

Coffee is good.

The best test for a new party dress: see if you can "get low".

Citadel Mall is freaking scary.  Period.

Laura's phone hated itself so much it tried to commit suicide in the pedicure spa.

Laura's phone is indestructible.

All it takes is one person to crack the first beer to start the shenanigans.

You can play card games all night and never have an argument - as soon as Catchphrase is cranked up all Hell breaks loose.

Apparently if you don't like the word, you can push "next" until the buzzer goes off.

Michael Jackson played for the Bulls.  Huh?

Magnum bottles of wine are for sharing.  Seriously.

1 Magnum bottle of wine + Lindsey = drunk crying on the porch (while people come in and out just to get another beer from the cooler)

If you clean up the night before mess before you realize what happened, you never have to remember what happened.

The best cure for a wine hangover: running on the beach in 45 degree weather.

Mimosas can be drank at any point in the day...it's not technically "drinking".

The movie "The Heathers" was a LOT cooler in the 90's...however, apparently every single LT catchphrase came from this movie.

Thank goodness for Netflix and WiFi - you saved us for a few hours.

An afternoon walk to the marina to drool over boats none of us will ever afford is just enough to make everyone start drinking...again.

ahhh...the marina.

There is such a thing as a power nap.

Cold showers suck.

It's a lot more fun to get ready in a bathroom suite with 6 of your best friends...yea, it was only weird for a minute.

Your friends will tell you a dress looks good on...your BEST friends tell you the dress will help you find a husband!

You can go two days without taking but three photos, but as soon as everyone is fancy and dressed up - you take 30.

oh you fancy now!

Oh my gosh...the reason we're here is because we're going to our 10 year class reunion.

I'm really tall...

this is why I never wear heels...

Class reunions should happen more often than they do.

The Cupid Shuffle will bring everyone together.  The Electric Slide will make everyone leave the dance floor and awkwardly stare at the DJ.

It's okay to recite 4H songs and prayers while partially drunk.

After the party there's the after-party.  After that, everyone is really drunk.

Snacking on raw veggies after a night of drinking is lame.

There comes a point in the night when you go from "I'm having fun" to "I don't care" - at this point you should be removed from people who are not having fun and care.

If you find yourself saying "Yall wanna watch Twilight" at 3:00 am, you've officially run out of better things to do.

You know you're getting old when you request a late check out because "there's no way we'll be up before 10am on Sunday"...yet, you're already home by 10:15am.

The Real World...Isle of Palms

Super Saturday in the 'Hill

Have you ever had one of those days when it starts out so terrible that you are certain that there’s no possible way for redemption?  Me too…until yesterday.

7:45am: woke up – angry…Saturdays are for sleeping in, right?  Yea, that’s what I thought.

7:55am: finally went back to sleep

8:30am: woke back up – gave in.

8:45am: coffee brewing, teeth brushed, face washed, gym clothes on.

9:00am: Out the door.  Before I get into this too much further, this past weekend has been the first weekend since the New Year that I haven’t had any places to be.  Therefore, my to-do list was getting longer and longer.  Yesterday was supposed to be D-day – aka, “Get sh*t Done Day”.  Key word: SUPPOSED TO BE.

9:15am to 10:00am: Dick’s Sporting Goods, TjMaxx and Ross – just in case there was something on sale that I absolutely Neeeeeded.  There wasn’t.

10:10am: Ultra Tan for ½ price upgrades in which I chose to spend 8 minutes in a bed that looked like it was designed by NASA.  Go on, judge me all you want.

10:20am: Called Tire Kingdom to see if I could bring my car in for an oil change and alternator belt replacement.  “Sure, we have time to do it now – shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half” says Mr. Mechanic.  “Perfect,” I say…”be there in a minute”.

10:32am: Arrive at Tire Kingdom – tell them what I need done, and let them know that I’m going across the street to get a mani-pedi while I wait the hour and a half that it’s going to take for my car.  “Have fun” says Mr. Mechanic – this is the last time that I ever thought Mr. Mechanic was a nice person.

10:55am: Mr. Mechanic calls to let me know which belt needed replacing and the cost.  ½ way thru pedicure – perfect timing so far!

12:00 NOON: Finish up at the salon and head back across the street to fetch my rig.

12:02pm: realize that my car is STILL in the bay.  “Mr. Mechanic,” I say, “Is my car not ready?”.  Mr. Mechanic replies “Oh, they’re putting the belt on right now and you should be ready to roll in about 30 minutes”.

12:02:03pm: Lindsey loses her cool…for the FIRST time.

12:03pm: I sit in the waiting area after being told “Thirty minutes tops – putting my two best mechanics on it”.  Meh.

12:34pm: Mechanic #2 comes into waiting area with a busted ass looking belt from my car and a very small – imagine headband sized – belt in the other hand.  He then tells me that “they” sent the wrong belt over and that “they’ve” called for the correct one and it’s on the way.  Deep breaths.  We’re now on hour 2 – and you’re JUST NOW realizing that the headband won’t fit on the engine?!?

12:50pm: had a great conversation with a lady in the waiting room about how long we both had been waiting and how it’s totally sucking because the weather is so beautiful.

1:20pm: “Maam, they’re finishing up and will be pulling your car around soon”…OH THANKS!  “I’m really sorry it took longer than expected” says Mechanic #1.  “Longer than expected would be 30 minutes over the time you told me – you officially took twice as long to do something, lied to me, and completely ruined my schedule for the day.”  There’s a lot more dialogue here, but I’ll spare you.  All you need to know is that I paid for the belt labor, and that’s all.  Savings of about $80 – in which I spend later – keep reading.

1:30pm: I wait outside for them to “pull my car around”.

1:38pm: my car finally comes around.

At exactly 1:42pm I realized I was not going to do ANYTHING else off my to do list the rest of the day!

1:50pm: I arrive at The White Horse for lunch and the beginning to a very long day of drinking.

2:50pm: I find myself stuffing mini bottles of rum and Red Stag in my purse to go to the Winthrop baseball game against Kent State.

3:15pm: Rum and Coke in the stands of opening weekend – Life is Good.

5:15pm: buzzed and hungry – again.  

5:25pm: Ordering a medium gold margarita at El Cancun.

6:15pm: Talks of going to the 7:00pm GA Tech ball game start…then dissolve.

7:00pm: The beginning of the end – at Striker’s bowling alley.  

7:30pm: beers and karaoke in the bar until our two hour wait for a lane ends.

8:15pm: The worst rendition of “Shoop” is performed by Chelcie and myself.

8:17-9:30pm: I have no clue.  SO I’ll take this time to remind everyone that I’m STILL IN MY GYM CLOTHES…yep.

9:30pm-ish: our lane is open.  FINALLY!

10:00 to 11:30pm: I kick asses and take names in two games of intense bowling. 196 the first game, and then a 120 the second game…it got worse the longer I played.

11:33pm: I’m done.

So, the morals of this story are:

• When your day starts out in the crapper, the only way it can go is UP.
• If you don’t get what you want, get loud
• Yesterday was the most fun I’ve had in Rock Hill in a very long time…thanks to everyone that played.  You have no idea how bad I needed that.  Special thanks to the DD as well! J

Unfortunately, I still have a to do list and a rockin’ headache– ugh.

Super Duper Bowl

After a weekend of going hard two nights in a row, I find myself home alone watching the Super Bowl with a big glass of H2O.  See, York county is a dry county on Sundays – no beer sales.  Basically the gas station at the border makes their February sales goals on Super Bowl Sunday with rednecks from Rock Hill driving up to get last minute party favors.  I, however, nursed a hangover all day and chose not to drink tonight OR leave my house to fetch provisions for the game.  I feel weird watching football without a cold beer…but oh well…it’s a school night anyway.

my personal Super Bowl party

Because I have nothing better to do while sitting alone getting text messages from all my Playworld people who are having a blast in PA, I have chosen to blog.  Yay.

If you’re wondering, I’m neither a Giants nor Patriots fan…but I will never cheer for a team who’s quarterback endorses UGG boots for men.  Not to mention the other “LT” played for NY…so go Giants.

Here’s the things I probably would have talked about, laughed, or made faces with someone if I wasn’t watching alone.

•  Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert are the greatest, most talented Country Music couple since Tim and Faith. 
• “America the Beautiful” always makes me cry…especially when sung by two amazing musicians.
• I’ve never been a Kelley Clarkson fan.  I don’t care if the girl has put on a few LB’s – she can sing!
• First commercial “The Dictator”, really?
•  Ok great, the Ronald McDonald House commercial made me cry too.
•  Audi Vampire commercial – clever…and so true.  Those headlights are insanely bright.
• Dear Tom Brady, starting the game off with an intentional grounding call resulting in a Safety is NOT the way to start out the friggin Super Bowl.
• Elton John Pepsi commercial blew…until Flava Flav showed up.
• Dear GM/Chevy, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.  Ford insult in your ad was below the belt…remember who helped bail your ass out?  Ford supporters and employees.  Not cool.
• Oh, now the Patriots have 12 men on the field.  Seriously?  You’re in the SUPER BOWL.  Get it together.
• Ok, Budweiser…you got me…I want to try Bud Light Platinum.
• VW commercials never fail to entertain me.
• David Beckham H&M commercial was hot…until it showed his wedding ring.
• No wonder the Patriots blow, they’re being coached by a dirty bum in a sleeveless hoodie.  We get it Belichick, it’s your “thing”…but just so you know, you look like a moron.
• Cars.com commercial was dumb.
• The Rock is the worst actor in the world…next to Jessica Simpson.  Thank God Bruce Willis is in GI Joe…otherwise that movie would blow.  (that rhymed)

And it’s Halftime.

• “Vogue” pretty bad ass performance.
• “Music” Madge nearly ate it trying to step up on the bleachers yet managed to do flip over them later?  Then enter weird looking tight rope walker…wow.  Add a little LMFAO and you have a really strange remix where Madonna shows off her man muscles.
• “Luv” with Nikki Minaj and Mia song is just dumb.  The drum line lead by Ceelo Green however was fantastic.
• “Like a Prayer” is probably my favorite Madonna song, and the performance didn’t let me down…until Madonna fell into the pit of hell.
• Thank God for Betty White.

Second Half:

• Patriots open up the second half with a TD and lead by 8
• Come on Chick-fil-a, we’ve seen that commercial a million times already!
• Giants get a field goal and it’s now a 5 point game.
• The commercials are starting to suck.
• That Greek Yogurt bitch just head butted Uncle Jessie!
• OMG I want the new Acura NSX!  That car is hot!
• These boys seem to be pushing each other a hell of a lot this half.
• Ferris Bueller’s day off CRV commercial: not terrible. 
• Cruuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzz!
• Wow, Motley Crue…Kia?  Really?
• I love monkey commercials.
• Manningham is insane!  What a catch!
• Bradshaw’s touchdown gives the Patriots a chance to score – what a dummy.
• Dear Aaron Hernandez, with those super pink receiver gloves you shouldn’t be dropping balls.
• Brady goes boom.
• Now the Giants have 12 on the field? 
• 5 seconds left in the game, 3^rd and 5, hail mary in the end zone with nearly 10 potential receivers from both teams and nobody makes the catch 
• Giants win!!!

What a game!  This year the commercials were not the highlight of Super Bowl Sunday…it was the game.  Wow!

My Blood STILL Runneth Orange

Oh man.  After staying up WELL past my bed time last night watching the Tigers self destruct makes this headache I have even more painful.  The Tigers lost...and they lost BAD.  And once again, I found myself getting worked up last night to the point I couldn't fall asleep - not over the game, but over the SC fans on Facebook.  Friend list was "cleaned up" last night...which sucks, because I really wish those people could read this.

"Let's Go Tigers!   #makehistory" was my status last night.  And regardless as to how terrible the scoreboard looked in the end, the Tigers made history in so many ways!  So to everyone mocking "Clemsux making history" and laughing...please read on.  

I'm not going to sit here and compare Clemson and South Carolina - that's not me.  Both teams had a hell of a season and put SC football on the map - finally.  I'm simply going to highlight the ACCOMPLISHMENTS Clemson's football team and players made this year.  We can't celebrate a win this week, but we can celebrate everything else these boys did this year!  

Team:

Winning the ACC Championship and even GOING to the Orange Bowl was making history in itself.  It's been 30 years since they've made it to a major bowl game and like Dabo says “It won’t be 30 years, we’ll be back.”

Last night, Clemson broke the school record for touchdowns in a season with the 27 yard touchdown catch by Sammy Watkins.  Previous record was 55 in 2000 and 2006 - after the third quarter score (that was long overdue) they broke the record with 57 touchdowns in a season.

Clemson scored 17 points in the first quarter of the game, the most points they have scored in the first quarter of a bowl game since 1949 against Missouri in the Gator Bowl (14).

Clemson finished the season 10-4 - making it the most wins in a season since 1990 when they were 10-2.

Clemson played six games against top 25 teams - the most in one season in school history.

The Tigers had four wins over these top 25 teams - the most in school history.

Individuals:

When Sammy Watkins caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Boyd in the first quarter, Watkins broke two school records. It was his 12th touchdown catch of the year, breaking the record of 11 previously held by himself and Aaron Kelly in 2007. It was also his 13th overall touchdown of the year, breaking the previous Clemson record for a freshman (CJ Spiller had 12 in 2006).

Watkins had 205 all-purpose yards last night, giving him 2,282 for the season, second most in ACC history for a season. The only figure better is CJ Spiller’s 2,680 in 2009.

Tajh Boyd set an ACC record for touchdown responsibility last night. His two touchdown passes gave him 38 touchdowns passing and running for the season. The previous ACC mark was 37 by Philip Rivers of NC State in 2003 and Russell Wilson of NC State in 2010. Boyd has 33 touchdown passes, already a Clemson record, and five rushing scores this year.

Chandler Catanzaro was 2-2 on field goals last night and both were from 40 yards or more. He finishes the year with 22 field goals overall, nine of which were from 40 yards or more. This is the second most field goals of 40 yards or more. Chris Gardocki had 10 for the Tigers in 1989.

Andre Ellington had 116 yards rushing last night- his second straight 100-yard rushing game. He had a 68-yard rushing touchdown that was the second longest in a bowl game in Clemson history. The only one longer is an 83-yarder by C.J. Spiller against Auburn in the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl. Ellington finishes the season with five 100-yard rushing games and 1,178 rushing yards for the year. The rushing total is the eighth most in Clemson history.

The bowl game in itself had SEVERAL records broken.  Breaking BCS-bowl records for combined scores, combined touchdowns, combined total yards, combined first downs and combined passes - the Mountaineers and the Tigers made history together.

So, if you want to say that the Tigers failed at making history, you may want to check your facts first.

As far as coaching goes: No, I'm not going to jump off the Dabo bandwagon, and no I don't regret his contract being extended.  It would be stupid to say that his loss in the Orange Bowl says that he's not a good coach.  This is a young football team - including the coaching staff.  Hell, I never hated on Tommy Bowden...he took the Tigers to a bowl game every year but one the 9-1/2 years he was there (bowl invitation was declined in 2004 because of the brawl after the SC game).  People who bash these coaches after a bad loss are just dumb.  Look at the overall picture and not at the scoreboard in front of you.  Dabo is a passionate coach - he loves his players and he loves Clemson University.  Passion won't win football games, but it damn sure makes it feel better when you lose - that you have a coach that truly loves the program and wants nothing more than to have a successful team.

As you can tell, I have a LOT to say about all this - it's because I'm so sick of people putting down a team that didn't beat SC and/or didn't win the Orange Bowl.  That's two games you freaks!  Look at the other 12 games (note: I'm not going to bring up the losses to NC State and GA Tech)!  The Tigers finished 10-4, won the ACC Championship and went to the Orange Bowl - is that really not enough for you?

It's enough for me and my blood still runneth orange! I'm so proud of the accomplishments this team has made this year!   

Solid Orange - it's all about Pride: GO TIGERS!

(Thank you TigerNet for the stats)